The Blast Zone
by SigmaGrey
Summary: "They are not friends, they are tools. The means to an end."


Gray entered the green room. Music played through a small speaker. It faintly reminded him of when he used to bicycle as a child, though he didn't exactly know why. It was pleasant, almost nostalgic.

He checked his watch, still fifteen minutes until showtime.

He paced about the room, examining its each and every feature. There was a mirror, which served to remind him of how ridiculous he looked in a dress shirt and tie. The room also had a small book case, which mostly just had picture books. There was a small candy bowl on top of it. Gray grabbed two, eating one and pocketing the other for later.

"I don't know how they make these rare candies," Gray muttered as he sucked on the candy. "But I really couldn't care less. Absolutely delicious!"

Green rooms are meant to be relaxing, to keep people from getting cold feet and backing out at the last minute. To that end, they typically have a variety of amenities, luxuries and distractions, not afforded to the typical trainer.

"This one," Gray thought. "May even be better than Hoenn's beachside view."

Gray walked over to the room's T.V. set and turned it on. He wanted noise, any noise. He needed to get pumped up for the upcoming battle, and cycling music wasn't doing it for him.

The T.V. turned on to a bird's eye view shot of the Indigo Plateau and the voice of a woman reporter.

"It is now ten minutes until the trainers take the field," she said. "On the red half of the arena, we have Gray, an up-and-comer from Hoenn. He's twenty-two years old and has taken the League by storm with his peculiar strategy, or lack thereof.

"Traditionally, he's run a high power offense, which keeps his opponents from setting up on him. He's also been known to play a bit fast and loose with the League morality guidelines, mostly by using self destru–"

He muted it. He had decided that this talk of morality was no good for his nerves. Besides, it was all about the game. And the game was all about the win. It was, anyway.

Gray walked to the room's mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. There was nothing else in there but a few dozen bottles of 'Pastoria Springs Fresh Water.' They wanted trainers to be calm, not plastered. One misdirected fire blast could, well... You get the idea.

He looked at the T.V. again, not bothering to turn the volume back on. The screen displayed his upcoming opponent's face, more or less of it. Their face was mostly obscured by a metal mask, which seemed to remind Gray of that movie star, Brycen's mask.

Three solid knocks sounded against the green room door.

"Come in," Gray said.

The door flew open and a fat man in a light blue t-shirt stomped in. The shirt read "Indigo Plateau: League Official."

"What's up, champ to be," the man said. "Checking out the competition?"

"Yeah, Marty," Gray said. "I guess I am. Anything you can tell me about 'em?"

He took a sip of water before turning to face the official.

"Well," Marty said. "This Sigma character runs pretty much the same strategy as you, a sort of slash and burn thing. He doesn't typically use anything that doesn't cause lots of immediate damage, like toxic or protect or any of those buffs you see most people using. Otherwise, he's a mystery. You know what's the weirdest part? His name, kind of like your weird name..."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Gray interrupted. "I get it she's tough. What I was wondering was if she has any notable weaknesses. Slow reaction time, or maybe a... Marty? You listening?"

Marty was giving him a sidelong glance, a look that could've meant anything between dumbstruck and just plain dumb.

"What?" Gray asked.

"Did you just say 'she?' As in female?"

"Yes?" Gray answered, now confused himself. "It is a chick, right?"

"Well, he checked the 'male' box on the application, and people don't typically lie about that one, so I'm going to have to say, 'wrong.'"

"You sure?" Gray asked. "I can usually tell the difference."

"What about that Unovan tranny you..."

"I was drunk. Shut up."

"Whatever, man."

They both looked at the still muted T.V. Gray took another sip of water.

"Besides," Gray said. "It was a dark room and he was wearing a scarf."

"It's cool, man."

They stared at the screen in silence. It appeared that they were interviewing some Pokémon rights activist.

"Hey, Marty."

"Yeah Gray?"

"Do I have to wear this stupid suit out there?"

"Why do you even ask? It's about a hundred times better than that crappy hoody you always wear."

"But I like my crappy hoody."

"Too bad, my producers don't, so suck it up."

Gray finished his water and threw the bottle away. He grabbed another rare candy from the bowl and ate it.

"Looks like it's time to head out," Marty said. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good! Let's get moving, you can't keep the crowds waiting forever."


End file.
